Irregularities At Postal Department Led, To Misappropriation Of Rs 96 Crore: CAG

Irregularities at post offices led to misappropriation of Rs 95.62 crore of public money between November 2002 to September 2021, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India said in its report on Monday. According to the report, CAG noticed that Savings Branch and the Saving Bank Control Organisation (SBCO) of the Department of Posts' (DoP) head post offices failed to implement internal checks codified by the department and orders issued by the directorate from time to time.

"These irregularities led to misappropriation of public money amounting to Rs 95.62 crore in post offices spread over fourteen postal circles over the period November 2002 to September 2021, of which Rs 14.39 crore (including penalty/interest of Rs 40.85 lakh) was recovered and balance recoveries were yet to be effected," the CAG report said.

Post office saving bank manuals prescribes the internal checks and clearly defines the responsibilities for prevention of frauds and fraudulent activities in saving bank operations for various levels. To corroborate the manual, DoP has also issued directions to the postal circles through a series of internal orders from time to time encompassing the preventive checks and actions to be done by field formations to avert fraud by its staff.

"To safeguard the public money and the faith citizens pose in post offices, DoP may ensure that effective and strict internal checks are exercised by post offices and internal audit is implemented in letter and spirit at various hierarchical levels," the report said.

(PTI)